George Nader, a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, pleaded guilty Monday to possessing child pornography and bringing a 14-year-old to the United States for sex, the Washington Post reports.
The backdrop: The Lebanese-American businessman came under scrutiny in the Mueller probe for acting as a conduit between Trump advisers and various Middle Eastern interests, including Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.
- Nader helped set up up a controversial meeting in the Seychelles in January 2017 between informal Trump adviser Erik Prince and a Russian official close to Vladimir Putin.
- He also orchestrated an August 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Prince, Donald Trump Jr. and Israeli social media specialist Joel Zamel, who reportedly pitched the Trump campaign on a multimillion-dollar social media manipulation scheme.
- Nader was indicted in December on campaign finance charges for allegedly using straw donors to conceal contributions to Hillary Clinton, per Politico.
Driving the news: Nader pleaded guilty to possessing pornography that was discovered when the Mueller team's agents were looking through his phone. The imagery was handed over to the FBI.
- Nader is also alleged to have taken a child from the Czech Republic to his home in Washington in 2000. He was charged in 2003 in the Czech Republic for sexual contact with a minor boy and was sentenced to a year in prison.
- Nader had already been convicted of transporting child pornography in 1991.
Go deeper: Read excerpts about Nader from the Mueller report
